Historic Paris bookshop frequented by famous writers including Jean-Paul Sartre ravaged by fire
A historic bookshop in Paris, famously frequented by the likes of Jean-Paul Sartre, was engulfed by flames on Thursday afternoon.
Onlookers in the St-Germain-des-prés area watched firefighters struggle to put out the fire and rescue those inside.
According to reports, seven people suffered minor injuries. Details about how the fire started have not yet emerged.
A local landmark since its founding in 1949, La Hune was a meeting place where artists and the best intellectual minds of the 20th century could mingle and share ideas.
As well as Satre, it counted Coco Chanel, Albert Camus and André Breton as patrons. Pablo Picasso exhibited some of his artwork in the gallery space on several occasions in the 1950s.
The bookshop was the setting for French literary and artistic history, situated in the heart of St Germain, it was a site of ‘Left Bank spirit’.
The blaze on Thursday afternoon was so great that 50 firefighters and a dozen fire trucks were sent to the scene. Black smoke billowed out from the building as the firefighters worked their hardest to stop the flames.
The bookstore and gallery were situated on the ground and first floors of the building which were completely burned.
It has been reported that firefighters managed to prevent the spread of the fire to the residential apartments above.
People inside the bookshop had to be evacuated as the fire spread. Among the seven injured was a fireman who suffered from heat stroke and smoke inhalation.
Crowds gathered to watch the spectacle on the street outside La Hune, taking to social media to share pictures and thoughts about the destruction of the iconic bookshop. Most were emotional when paying tribute to the Parisian institution.
La Hune a brûlé. C'est une catastrophe ! https://t.co/QWrDkzBECI
— Olivier Leclercq (@olivleclercq) November 17, 2017
Olivier Leclercq tweeted: “La Hune has burned. It’s a catastrophe!”
Since Thursday, people have been expressing their solidarity with the bookshop and spreading the word about the fire.
La Hune had recently moved location, just around the corner from its old, historic premises. Despite this change, the bookshop managed to maintain its prominence in the Parisian cultural consciousness.
Incendie de La Hune. Mes pensées aux blessés et à tous ceux qui travaillent dans une des plus passionnantes librairies de France. Espoir de la voir revivre vite.
— Marielle de Sarnez (@desarnez) November 17, 2017
Mareille de Sarnez, a French politician, expressed her views about La Hune’s importance and uniqueness. She tweeted: “My thoughts are with those injured and all those who work in one of the most exciting bookshops in France. I hope to see it alive again.”